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Tuesday, August 16, 2011

I am a sucker for an accent, which makes me love Paula Deen all the more. I was watching the Rachel Ray Show the other day and she was on as a guest making these fabulous treats. I was instantly intrigued when I heard it was only 5 ingredients for the tarts. Then I saw her whip them up lickety split and I knew that even if I didn't make dinner that day we would have treats. The idea isn't new or ground breaking but super delicious. I've never dared make a cheesecake because I didn't have a spring form pan, it sounded hard, I hate making graham cracker crusts and patting them down and getting it even, etc. This alleviated all that and I don't think I sacrificed any on the taste either.

Line a muffin tin with paper cups. Place a vanilla wafer, flat side down, in each cup.

Beat cream cheese until fluffy. Add sugar and vanilla mix well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating well after each egg.

Spoon mixture over each wafer. I used about 2 HEAPING tablespoons per cup.

Bake at 350 (doesn't everything bake at 350?) for 20 minutes. They get real puffy like this:

As soon as you remove them from the oven the tarts will fall. That is what you want--then they make a little bowl like shape that is perfect to hold your toppings. Allow the tarts to cool completely before serving and adding your toppings of choice.

Raspberries were WAY expensive at the store and the peaches smelled so heavenly, so I used a combination of peaches and strawberries. I just cut them up and sprinkled a generous amount of sugar on them and let them sit and sort of juice up for a bit. As if that wasn't enough, a dollop of Cool Whip on top and viola! Heaven on earth!

I will admit I ate 2, but I wanted like 4 so I was proud of myself. If any leftovers, I'd refrigerate them. On the show Rachel Ray made a suggestion that you could easily add a flavoring to the cream cheese mixture (like lemon or almond extract) and have an array of flavor combinations. (I think a little lemon extract added with some fresh raspberries or blueberries would be divine). My husband who isn't a fan of cheesecake, really enjoyed this too. He doesn't like his sweets so that is saying something :)

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